Also, posted below are direct links to information about my price action trade methodology and trading plan (there's a difference between the two) that enables me to identify key trading areas in the price action that represent changes in supply/demand and volatility along with being able to exploit these changes via WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis). I'm primarily a day trader because it suits my personal lifestyle but I do occasionally swing trade and position trade. Simply, my trade method is applicable for position trading, swing trading and day trading.

##TheStrategyLab Chat Room is free. Members and I use the chat room to post WRB Analysis commentary, real-time trades and to post anything else related to trading. The chat room helps me tremendously in my own trading because I use it to document (journal) general volatility analysis involving WRB Analysis so that I can easily review at a later date my thoughts as I interacted with the markets...info I can not get from my broker statements. Also, this is not a signal calling chat room where a head trader tells you when to buy or sell and I do not have the time/energy/resources to manage a signal calling chat room. Access instructions for chat room @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/tsl/forum/viewforum.php?f=164

The below summaries by Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance helps me to do a quick review of the fundamentals, FED/ECB/BOE/IMF actions or any important global economic events (e.g. Eurozone, MarketWatch.com) that had an impact on today's price action in many trading instruments I monitor during the trading day. Simply, I'm a strong believer that key market events causes key changes in supply/demand and volatility resulting in trade opportunities (swing points and strong continuation price actions) that reach profit targets. Thus, I pay attention to these key market events, intermarket analysis (e.g. Forex EurUsd, EuroFX 6E futures, Gold GC futures, Light Crude Oil (WTI) CL & Brent Oil futures, Eurex DAX futures, Euronext FTSE100 futures, Emini ES futures, Emini TF futures, Treasury ZB futures and U.S. Dollar Index futures) while using WRB Analysis from one trade to the next trade to give me the market context for price action trading before the appearance of my technical analysis trade signals. Therefore, I maintain these archives to allow me to understand what was happening on any given trading day in the past involving key market events to help better understand my trade decisions (day trading, swing trading, position trading)...something I can not get from my broker statements alone. Further, most financial websites remove (delete) their archives after a few years to make room for new content. Therefore, I maintain my own archives of the news content so that I have it available for me when financial websites no longer archives their content.

click on the above image to view today's price action of key markets

4:30 pm: [BRIEFING.COM] The major indices ended the last trading session of a miserable January on a sharply higher note. Today's rally followed the Bank of Japan's vote to adopt a negative interest rate policy while oil added to its recent advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+2.5%) paced the S&P 500 (+2.5%) while the Nasdaq (+2.4%) followed.

Despite today's rally, the S&P 500 tumbled 5.1% in January while the Nasdaq surrendered 7.9% as global growth concerns returned into focus. On that note, market participants are scheduled to receive key manufacturing data out of China and the U.S. on Monday, which may influence how the market starts February.

Overnight, the Bank of Japan narrowly voted to approve a negative interest rate on some excess reserves. At its core, the new policy is meant to discourage parking deposits at the central bank in order to have the capital take a more active role in propping up and expanding the country's economy. The policy change struck a cautious note, as the move might signal an exhaustion of quantities easing measurers, but nevertheless global indices rallied on the news of continued easing.

Oil was able to benefit from the positive market conditions as the commodity rallied above the $33.00/bbl level overnight. Ongoing speculation regarding supply cut cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC states helped drive the commodity to the $35.00/bbl price level. The energy component surrendered this price level after reports indicated that Iran would not join a coordinated production cut with OPEC. Despite this news, WTI managed to maintain part of its advance, ending its pit session with a 1.5% gain at $33.73/bbl.

Technology (+3.6%) outperformed the other sectors as materials (+2.9%) and industrials (+2.8%) followed while consumer discretionary (+1.2%) and health care (+1.8%) underperformed.

In the heavily-weighted technology space, Microsoft (MSFT 55.09, +3.04) shot up 5.8% after the company reported a beat in their fourth quarter earnings report. The large-cap helped lift the larger sector to the top of the leaderboard and built on yesterday's interest in tech names. Facebook (FB 112.21, +3.10) was able to continue its advance following yesterday's earnings beat while Apple (AAPL 97.34, +3.25) recovered from its miss. Elsewhere, high-beta chipmakers showed relative strength, evidenced by the 4.6% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index.

Dow component Chevron (CVX 86.47, +0.55) added 0.6% on the heels of an earnings miss while fellow energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM 77.85, +0.86) underperformed ahead of its earnings report on Tuesday. Meanwhile in the larger energy sector, Phillips 66 (PSX 80.15, +1.45) was able to climb 1.8% after spending most of its day beneath its flat line despite beating earnings estimates.

The health care space (+1.8%) was the only countercyclical sector to end the week in negative territory. Biotechnology showed relative weakness all week, evidenced by the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF's (IBB 264.11, +0.64) 7.3% slide since last Friday.

Treasuries traded near their highs the entire session, suggesting investors may have taken advantage of international rate differentials. The yield on the benchmark note ended the day lower by five basis points at 1.93%.

Today's trading volume kept with recent trends and was relatively heavy with more than 1.6 billion shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Today's economic data included the advance reading of Q4 GDP, the Q4 Employment Cost Index, Chicago PMI for January, and the final reading of the January Michigan Sentiment Index.

The advance fourth quarter GDP report was quite weak as expected, showing an annualized rate of real GDP growth of just 0.7% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%) and down from 2.0% in the third quarter. The report showed weak quarter-over-quarter readings for all key components. Personal consumption expenditures increased 2.2% versus 3.0% in Q3, gross private domestic investment declined 2.5% after a 0.7% declined in Q3, exports fell 2.5% after increasing 0.7% in Q3, imports rose 1.1% after increasing 2.3% in Q3. Final sales of domestic product, which exclude the change in inventories, were up just 1.2% after increasing 2.7% in the third quarter. That was the weakest pace since a 0.2% decline in the first quarter of 2015. The Employment Cost indexrpse 0.6% (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%) The GDP Deflator was up 0.8% (Briefing.com consensus +0.9%) after a 1.3% increase in the third quarter. The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index produced some good news, surging 12.7 points to 55.6 from 42.9 in December. (Briefing.com consensus 45.0) and the highest reading in a year. The move in January was powered by big upticks in its two largest components: new orders (from 38.6 to 58.8) and production (from 46.7 to 62.5). The final reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey for January dipped to 92.0 from the preliminary reading of 93.3. The final reading was below the (Briefing.com consensus 93.2) The January reading marked a downturn from the final reading of 92.6 for December. It was said the stock market declines and weakened prospects for the national economy factored into the dip in consumer sentiment. There was no evidence that the East Coast blizzard influenced the final reading for January. One item highlighted in the review of the survey was that favorable financial prospects have become dependent on very low inflation.

China's Official Manufacturing PMI and Caixin Manufacturing PMI are scheduled to be released on Sunday at 20:00 ET and 20:45 ET, respectively.

Monday's domestic economic data will include the 8:30 ET release of PCE Prices for December (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%) while Construction Spending for December (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%), and the January ISM Index (Briefing.com consensus 48.3) will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

True to this month's form, the past week featured a fair share of gyrations in equities, but when the week was done, the market was looking down on last Friday's close. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% for the week, narrowing its January decline to 5.1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the week higher by 0.5% to trim its January drop to 7.9%.

The major averages were able to register their second consecutive weekly gain, but relative weakness in biotechnology and large cap names like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Qualcomm (QCOM) kept the tech-heavy Nasdaq behind the broader market. Amazon reported below-consensus results while Apple and Qualcomm beat estimates, but cautious guidance from the two induced profit taking in their respective shares. To be fair, Facebook (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT) provided some counterbalance in the Nasdaq after both reported above-consensus results.

However, it wasn't all earnings as the last week of January featured a fair dose of central bank talk and activity. The Federal Reserve released its January statement on Wednesday, leaving the door open to the potential of four rate hikes taking place before the end of 2016. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan took a step in the opposite direction by announcing the introduction of negative interest rates into its policy arsenal. Instead of paying interest, the central bank will now charge a rate of 0.1% to accounts held by financial institutions. The decision was spurred by a 5-4 vote, leading to a slide in the yen while the Nikkei and other global equity markets surged on Friday.

The Bank of Japan decision weighed on the yen, leading to a 220-pip (+1.9%) spike in the dollar/yen pair (121.05). The currency pair returned to late December levels while global equities surged, reflecting speculation among investors that actions from the BoJ may get in the way of the Federal Reserve's tentative plan for four rate hikes in 2016.

Eight sectors registered weekly gains between 0.7% (materials) and 4.3% (telecom services), but only three groups ended January in the green with consumer staples, utilities, and telecom services logging respective monthly gains of 0.5%, 4.9%, and 5.5%. On the flip side, the materials sector was the weakest performer, falling 10.6% in January while energy saw the slimmest January decline, dropping 3.1%.

3:40 pm: [BRIEFING.COM]

The dollar index continue to trade in positive territory, which helped weigh on commodity prices, such as precious metals Feb gold ended today's session -$10.50 at $1116.90/oz, while Mar silver lost -1.8% to end at $14.27/oz In industrial metals, Mar copper rose 1% today to close at $2.07/lb. WTI crude oil has another volatile day After rallying above $34/barrel today, the oil market received some bearish news, relating to the possibility of a coordinated OPEC/non-OPEC production cut Following today's sell-off its HoD, Mar crude recovered some and closed the day +1.5% at $33.73/barrel Natural gas futures traded higher all day and held strong gains. Mar crude finished today's session +5.5% at $2.30/MMBtu.

2:55 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] As the stock market enters its final hour of trading, the major averages have hovered beneath their new highs. The S&P 500 (+1.9%) narrowly leads the Nasdaq (+1.7%).

All ten sectors show gains of at least 0.9% as consumer discretionary climbs to that level despite the headwinds from Amazon (AMZN 586.11, -49.24). The heavily-weighted technology space (+3.0%) has managed to post a gain for the week of 1.4% thanks to the relative strength of Microsoft (MSFT 54.93, +2.88).

The countercylical sectors have topped the monthly leaderboard with telecom services (+1.7%), utilities (+1.8%), and consumer staples (+2.1%) posting the only gains in the month of January.

Recently reported, the Baker Hughes U.S. Rig Count produced a reading of 498 versus last week's 510. On a somewhat related note, WTI crude rallied 1.2% to end its pit session at $33.62/bbl.

2:30 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages float near new session highs as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.9%) paces the S&P 500 (+1.9%) while the Nasdaq (+1.7%) narrowly trails.

The financial sector (+1.9%) trades in-line with the broader market as the group looks to rebound from its difficult start to the year. The space has plummeted 9.9% since the beginning of January, outpacing the decline in the benchmark index (-5.7%). The group is benefiting from the relative strength of asset management companies with BlackRock (BLK 311.91, +12.74) and State Street (STT 54.46, +2.48) climbing 4.3% and 4.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo (WFC 49.71, +0.79) underperforms while Bank of America (BAC 13.82, +0.29) gains 2.2% on an upgrade at Credit Agricole to 'Outperform'.

Treasuries have retreated from their highs in recent trade with the yield on the benchmark note now lower by four basis points at 1.94%.

In the industrial space, Honeywell International (HON 101.86, +3.91) outperforms after reporting in line fourth quarter earnings on in-line revenue. Meanwhile, fellow large-cap component General Electric (GE 28.95, +0.74) and 3M (MMM 150.64, +3.32) also outperform with gains of 2.6% and 2.2%, respectively.

Despite today's advance the S&P 500 has slipped 5.8% in January while the Nasdaq surrendered 8.7%. Equity markets have declined as growth concerns domestically and globally took focus. On that note, market participants are scheduled to receive key manufacturing out of China and the U.S. by Monday. China's Official Manufacturing PMI and Caixin Manufacturing PMI are scheduled to be released Sunday at 20:00 ET and 20:45 ET, respectively. Meanwhile, the ISM Index for January will be released at 10:00 ET. Results from these readings have the potential to be market moving as investors look to growth prospects.

1:35 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices maintain strong gains as we end the afternoon session.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that Microsoft (MSFT 54.88, +2.83), Visa (V 72.95, 3.62), and UnitedHealth Group (UNH 114.27, +9.89) are outperforming. Microsoft delivered strong quarterly results, surpassing both top and bottom line estimates, generating a number of positive analyst reactions. Visa beat on both the top and bottom line and reaffirmed their Fiscal Year guidance.

Conversely, Chevron (CVX 85.18, -0.74) is the worst-performing Dow component after reporting disappointing quarterly results as Chevron missed analyst expectations on both the top and bottom line.

The DJIA is set to end the week with gains of ~1.6%, reducing its YTD losses to 6.15%

1:10 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices sport sharp midday gains after building on their opening advance. The stock market opened sharply higher following a decision by the Bank of Japan to adopt a negative interest rate policy, while an initial rebound in oil helped to underpin today's positive sentiment. As midday trade continues, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.7%) and the S&P 500 (+1.6%) trade ahead of the Nasdaq (+1.5%).

Overnight, the BoJ voted to adopt a negative interest rate (-0.1%) on some excess reserves. The policy change is meant to discourage parking deposits at the central bank, moving the capital to a more active role in the country's economy. The decision immediately affected financial markets as the yen fell 2.0% and global indices rallied on the news. This move may have struck a cautious note with some investors though, as it could signal an exhaustion of quantitative easing ammunition.

True to recent form, an upswing in oil helped strengthen initial market sentiment. WTI crude was able to maintain its footing at the $33.00/bbl level overnight, but rallied as high as $35.00/bbl. The commodity faced headwinds from reports stating that Iran would not join a coordinated production cut with OPEC. WTI crude briefly visited negative territory before returning to trade at $33.37/bbl (+0.5%).

Technology (+2.8%) outperforms on the top of the leaderboard as industrials (+2.0%) and utilities (+1.9%) follow. Meanwhile energy (+1.0%) has slid to the back of the pack as it follows consumer discretionary (+0.7%).

In the heavily-weighted technology space, Microsoft (MSFT 54.84, +2.79) has spiked 5.4% since reporting a beat in their fourth quarter earnings report. Similarly, Xerox (XRX 9.81, +0.58) has outperformed after beating and issuing upside guidance for the full year 2016. Additionally, Xerox announced that it will split into two separate companies. The high-beta chipmakers show relative strength, evidenced by the 3.5% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index.

Heavyweight Amazon (AMZN 586.50, -48.85) continues to weigh on the consumer discretionary space, diving 7.7%. The company underperforms after missing analyst expectations regarding operating income and EPS. Elsewhere in the space, Netflix (NFLX 92.10, -2.31) continues to show weakness, falling 3.2% on news from BGR that Apple (AAPL 96.13, +2.04) may unveil a video streaming service later this year.

Treasuries have traded on their highs since the beginning of the session, suggesting investors may be taking advantage of international rate differentials. The yield on the benchmark note is lower by five basis points at 1.93%.

Today's economic data included the advance reading of Q4 GDP, the Q4 Employment Cost Index, Chicago PMI for January, and the final reading of the January Michigan Sentiment Index.

The advance fourth quarter GDP report was quite weak as expected, showing an annualized rate of real GDP growth of just 0.7% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%) and down from 2.0% in the third quarter. The report showed weak quarter-over-quarter readings for all key components. Personal consumption expenditures increased 2.2% versus 3.0% in Q3, gross private domestic investment declined 2.5% after a 0.7% declined in Q3, exports fell 2.5% after increasing 0.7% in Q3, imports rose 1.1% after increasing 2.3% in Q3. Final sales of domestic product, which exclude the change in inventories, were up just 1.2% after increasing 2.7% in the third quarter. That was the weakest pace since a 0.2% decline in the first quarter of 2015. The Employment Cost indexrpse 0.6% (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%) The GDP Deflator was up 0.8% (Briefing.com consensus +0.9%) after a 1.3% increase in the third quarter. The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index produced some good news, surging 12.7 points to 55.6 from 42.9 in December. (Briefing.com consensus 45.0) and the highest reading in a year. The move in January was powered by big upticks in its two largest components: new orders (from 38.6 to 58.8) and production (from 46.7 to 62.5). The final reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey for January dipped to 92.0 from the preliminary reading of 93.3. The final reading was below the (Briefing.com consensus 93.2) The January reading marked a downturn from the final reading of 92.6 for December. It was said the stock market declines and weakened prospects for the national economy factored into the dip in consumer sentiment. There was no evidence that the East Coast blizzard influenced the final reading for January. One item highlighted in the review of the survey was that favorable financial prospects have become dependent on very low inflation.

12:30 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices float at session highs as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.7%) leads the S&P 500 (+1.6%).

Three of the four countercyclical sectors show the largest advances of the week with telecom services gaining 4.0%, utilities 3.5%, and consumer staples 2.7%. Meanwhile, the final countercylcial group, health care, shows the largest loss of any sector during that time with a decline of 2.6%.

In the health care space (+1.0%), biotechnology has shown relative weakness throughout the week, evidenced by a 8.3% decline in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 264.11, +0.64) since Monday.

Meanwhile, health care large cap AbbVie (ABBV 53.99m -1.86) underperforms after reaffirming full year 2016 guidance at the lower end of analyst expectations. The company has slipped 3.3% thus far.

12:00 pm:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages trade at new session highs as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.5%) outpaces the S&P 500 (+1.4%).

Energy (+0.2%) flirted with negative territory amid reports that Iran would not support an emergency meeting of oil producers. On a related note, WTI crude has slipped into the red on the news, as the commodity trades lower by 0.5% at $33.05/bbl.

Consumer discretionary shows the slimmest gain of the day as it follows energy on the bottom of the leaderboard. Sector heavyweight Amazon.com (AMZN 583.73, -51.46) continues to weigh on the group after the company missed analyst expectations regarding operating income and EPS in the company's fourth quarter earnings report. The company has declined 8.0%. Elsewhere in the space, Netflix (NFLX 91.34, -3.06) continues to show weakness as the company falls 3.2% on news from BGR that Apple (AAPL 95.59, +1.50) may unveil a video streaming service later this year.

Treasuries continue to trade on their highs despite the rally in equities, as the yield on the benchmark note falls six basis points at 1.92%.

11:30 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has ticked higher in recent trade with the major averages floating just under their best levels of the the day as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2%) outperforms the S&P 500 (+1.1%).

Technology (+2.3%) continues to outpace the remaining sectors after key earnings results drove it to the the top of the leaderboard. The heavyweight space is followed by utilities (+1.7%) and industrials (+1.7%).

In the technology space, Microsoft (MSFT 54.41, +2.35) has gained 4.5% after reporting an earnings and revenue beat in their fourth quarter earnings reports. The high-beta chipmakers have shown relative strength this morning, evidenced by the 3.0% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. The group is being led by Avago Technologies (AVGO 132.89, +6.52) which has climbed 5.1%. Elsewhere in the tech group, Xerox (XRX 9.81, +0.58) has outperformed after issuing upside guidance for the full year 2016 and announcing that it will separate into two separate companies.

10:55 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages hover beneath their opening highs as the tech-heavy Nasdaq (+0.9%) trails the S&P 500 (+1.0%).

The consumer discretionary space (UNCH) shows the slimmest advance of the day while energy (+0.3%) has fallen behind to follow the group.

In the commodity-sensitive energy sector, Chevron (CVX 84.27, -1.65) underperforms the group after reporting an EPS and revenue miss in their fourth quarter earnings report. Fellow energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM 76.48, -0.51) has traded in sympathy, as the company slides 0.6%. Meanwhile, Phillips 66 (PSX 77.03, -1.67) has lost 2.1% despite reporting an EPS beat. On a related note, WTI crude has surrendered the $34.00/bbl level but continues to show a gain of 1.1% at $33.57/bbl.

Treasuries have inched higher with the yield on the benchmark note now lower by four basis points at 1.93%.

10:45 am: [BRIEFING.COM]

Oil prices are volatile again this morning After WTI crude ran above $34/barrel, prices lost steam and a recent headline that came out helps explain why Iran is saying that it wouldn't join an OPEC cut, which is clearly a bearish headline Following pullback, Mar crude is now In other energy, nat gas has been strong and near today's high all day so far Mar natural gas futures are currently trading +4.8% at $2.29/MMBtu Metals including gold, silver and copper are largely flat this morning Feb gold is currently up $1 at $1116.60/oz, while Mar silver is +$0.03 at $14.26/ox and copper is up one cent at $2.06/lb

10:00 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages trade at session highs with the S&P 500 (+1.0%) and the Nasdaq (+1.0%) pacing one another.

Just released, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment report for January was revised lower to 92.0 from 93.3 while the Briefing.com consensus expected 93.2.

9:45 am:

[BRIEFING.COM] As expected, the major averages have lifted above their flat lines with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.9%) leading the S&P 500 (+0.8%) and the Nasdaq (+0.7%).

Eight of ten sectors sport opening gains with technology (+1.6%) ahead of the other sectors thanks to a strong open from Microsoft (MSFT 54.28, +2.21). The utilities sector (+1.3%) sits behind technology while other groups show gains between 0.2%(materials) and telecom services (+0.9%). Meanwhile, the consumer discretionary space (-0.2%) and energy (-0.2%) pace one another in negative territory.

On the economic front, the just released Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for January climbed to to 55.6 from 42.9 in December. The January reading was above of the Briefing.com consensus estimate, which was pegged at 45.0.

Treasuries trade off their highs but the yield on the benchmark note is still lower by four basis points at 1.94%.

Overnight, global equity markets traded higher on the news that the Bank of Japan moved to a negative interest rate on excess reserves. The central bank cited falling oil prices and uncertainty from China's economy for the move. In commodities, WTI crude was able to maintain the $33.00/bbl price level overnight and has since climbed to $33.99/bbl (+2.3%).

Investors have received another round of key earnings since yesterday's close with Amazon.com (AMZN 568.99, -66.36) and Microsoft (MSFT 54.15, +2.10) reporting after yesterday's close. The online retail giant reported weaker than expected operating income, while EPS also came in below analyst expectations. Meanwhile, Microsoft reported a beat on earnings and revenue with EPS of $0.78. Before today's opening bell Chevron (CVX 84.38, -1.54) reported fourth quarter earnings and has since slipped 1.8% due to both an EPS and revenue miss.

On the economic front, fourth quarter GDP reported an expansion of 0.7% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%) while the fourth quarter GDP Deflator came in at 0.8% (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%), and the Q4 Employment Cost Index rose 0.6% (Briefing.com consensus +0.6%). Looking ahead, Chicago PMI for January (Briefing.com consensus 45.0) and the final reading of the January Michigan Sentiment Index (Briefing.com consensus 93.2) will cross the wires at 9:45 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.

Equity markets across Asia ended the week on a higher note following some monetary fireworks from the Bank of Japan. Specifically, the central bank left its asset purchase program unchanged, but introduced negative interest rate policy (-0.1%) on some excess reserves. The decision was a close vote (5-4), that was met with a slide in the yen that sent the dollar/yen pair to a high of 121.41 before pulling back. The pair currently trades near 121.00 while Japanese equities settled near their highs. It is also worth noting that the Bank of Japan lowered its inflation forecast for fiscal year 2016 to 0.8% from 1.4%.

Japan's Nikkei spiked 2.8% with all but one sector ending in the green. Consumer staples (+4.6%), energy (+4.4%), utilities (+4.3%), and consumer discretionary (+3.8%) settled in the lead while the industrial sector (-0.6%) failed to make it out of the red. Tokyo Fudosan, Heiwa Real Estate, Yamato Holdings, Daiwa Securities, Mazda Motor, and Fuji Heavy Industries gained between 7.5% and 14.7%. For the week, the Nikkei spiked 3.3%, but still lost 8.0% in January. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 2.5% amid strength in most names. Energy-related stocks like CNOOC, China Resources Power, and Petrochina gained between 4.0% and 9.6% while some consumer names struggled. China Resources Beer Holdings and Want Want China lost 1.9% and 1.2%, respectively. The Hang Seng jumped 3.2% this week, narrowing its January loss to 10.2%. China's Shanghai Composite advanced 3.1% with Bank of China rising 1.9% while Agricultural Bank of China, CITIC Securities, China Shipbuilding, and China State Construction posted gains between 2.8% and 5.8%. The index lost 6.1% this week, extending its January slide to 22.7%.

Major European indices trade higher across the board following the Bank of Japan's decision to introduce negative interest rates into its monetary policy arsenal. However, the opening spike higher has been largely retraced by the regional indices. The overnight developments have done little to calm concerns about the Italian banking sector, evidenced by a 4.0% slide in the shares of BMPS that have triggered a trading halt. Meanwhile, the broader MIB Index is higher by 1.8%.

Germany's DAX is higher by 0.7% amid gains in more than half of its components. Allianz leads with a 2.5% gain while Commerzbank, SAP, Henkel, and Beiersdorf are up between 1.4% and 1.5%. On the downside, Thyssenkrupp has tumbled 2.0% and Lanxess is down 1.6%. France's CAC trades up 0.9% with Airbus Group, Carrefour, Danone, and Legrand in the lead. The four names show gains between 1.5% and 2.0%. On the flip side, growth-sensitive names lag with ArcelorMittal, Technip, and Valeo down between 1.3% and 1.6%. UK's FTSE has climbed 1.2% with consumer and financial names among the leaders. Sainsbury, Imperial Tobacco, and British American Tobacco show gains between 2.3% and 3.8% while Old Mutual, Barclays, and Prudential are up between 2.2% and 3.5%. Conversely, miners are under pressure with Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore, and Rio Tinto showing losses between 1.4% and 3.5%.

The advance estimate of fourth quarter GDP pointed to an expansion of 0.7%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 0.9%. Meanwhile, the fourth quarter GDP Deflator came in at 0.8%, while the consensus expected a reading of 0.9%. Separately, the fourth quarter Employment Cost Index rose 0.6% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.6%.

Overnight, global equity markets were surprised by the Bank of Japan's decision to move to a negative interest rate policy. The decision has sent the yen plummeting while spurring global equities higher. For its part, oil has helped sentiment by maintaining its footing at the $33.00/bbl level. WTI crude currently trades higher by 1.3% at $33.45.

Treasuries have moved sharply higher overnight with the yield on the benchmark note now lower by five basis points to 1.93%.

On the economic front, the advance reading of Q4 GDP (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%) and the Q4 Employment Cost Index (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%) will be released at 8:30 ET. Meanwhile, Chicago PMI for January (Briefing.com consensus 45.0) and the final reading of the January Michigan Sentiment Index (Briefing.com consensus 93.2) will cross the wires at 9:45 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

Amazon.com (AMZN 575.00, -60.35): -9.5% after the company reported operating revenue below analyst estimates in their Q4 report Microsoft (MSFT 54.65, +2.60): +5.0% following the company reporting a beat on revenue and earnings in Q2 with EPS of $0.78 American Airlines (AAL 39.10, +0.96): +2.5% after reporting an EPS beat in their Q4 earnings report Electronic Arts (EA 66.00, -3.79): -5.4% after issuing below consensus EPS and revenue guidance for Q4 Xerox (XRX 9.45, +0.22): +2.4% on news that it will separate into two separate companies and beating on Q4 earnings

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